Scarlet Rings
by AnOthEr-bEIng
Summary: Fate is cruel. They suffered and faced loneliness. Then they were finally together, with time racing against them. Sorry for any grammar mistakes in the story


For Do-What-Ever Contest by TheENweb

Disclaimer: the only thing I want from DC is Kaitou-sama but alas…I can't have him

Scarlet Rings

Words: 2,363

Genre: Romance/Tragedy

* * *

The day after Haibara finally finished the cure for the APTX4869 and Kudo Shinichi said goodbye to the life of Edogawa Conan, he returned to Ran. The second Ran sees his face, her tears flows for a good while and Shinichi just stands there, comforting her with his silence, silently vowing that he will never make her cry ever again. When Ran finally stops crying, she smiles that smile of hers and tells him, "Welcome home, Shinichi."

Reaching out a hand to her, he invites her to a walk with him. She takes it.

Walking together, hand in hand, just enjoying being in each other's presence. They walk on that path next to the river as the sun set.

"Hey Ran, remember when we heard Akiba-san sang _Amazing Grace _that day?"

"Yea…it was beautiful, you played it too. That day in the woods."

"Ahh, that right. What was the weird habit you mentioned?"

Ran giggles.

"Oh? The great detective can't figure it out?" She sticks out her tongue. "I'm not telling you!" And with that, she runs off and twirls in a circle, laughing as the Sakura blossom caresses her features. Shinichi watches, transfix by the display before him. He walks toward her and as Ran twirl her final circle, the sun hits her face _just_ right. Shinichi raises his hand and tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, fingers trailing down her jaw line. Ran blushes as she stares into his eyes. His fingers continue to trail down her neck, over her shoulders, down her arms, passes her wrists, before guiding her knuckles up to his face and gently brushes his lips over it. Then he lower their hands down and continue walking, fingers intertwine.

They walk on, laughing about silly old things, reminiscing at precious memories. They stop at the playground and sits at the swing. They sit there in a comfortable silence, swinging at a random pace.

"Hey Shinichi," Shinichi turns to the source of the voice

"I…" Ran pauses and stares at the object beyond Shinichi's head. A suspicious black van pull up in front of the park. Shinichi narrow his eyes and grab Ran's hand.

"Let's go," he tugs her hand and walks faster. As they pass an intersecting street, two men in black starts to follow them. Gripping Ran's hand a little harder, Shinichi breaks into a run. The two men quickly over take them and press chloroform over their mouths. The last thing Shinichi sees is Ran's panic-fill eyes.

* * *

When Shinichi comes to, he finds himself inside a small cabin with no windows. Next to him, Ran lies on the floor, unconscious. Ran!! Shinichi quickly crawl over to her and check her pulse. Good, she's still breathing. Then, he realizes that there are no windows and the only source of light comes from the lightbulb above their heads. The only exit was locked and most likely impossible to break. Shinichi sighs and analyze his situation. What is going on? Who were those men in black? Shinichi's eyes widen. It can't be them. No…it wasn't the organization's style to do it like this. If they want him dead, he wouldn't be breathing right now. Maybe someone has a grudge on him? A small groan reaches his ears. Within the next second, Shinichi has Ran cradle in his arms.

"Shinichi?" Ran whispers, "Where are we?"

"I don't know," he answers. He can feel her tremble in his arms. Suddenly, a small crackle sound fills the room. Giving Ran a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder, Shinichi walks toward the sound, hidden inside a black bag. Inside of it are a box and one walkie-talkie. A colorful wrapping paper wrap around the box, like a present. The walkie-talkie crackles again.

"Hehehe, how are you feeling, Mr. Detective?" Shinichi narrow his eyes. He didn't even bother to mask his voice.

"Who are you? Why are you doing this? What's going on?" Shinichi hear several voices laughing in the background.

"Hehehe, the Great Detective is asking so many questions! Who are we? We'll give you a hint…you killed our boss a year ago."

_Boss_? Shinichi thinks back to a year ago. From the way those two men manhandle Ran and him and the suspicious looking van, they're probably from a gang. And that person said, "Boss." Most likely, these people are in a criminal gang. Since Shinichi never killed anyone, he was most likely to be indirectly responsible for the death. There had been a few cases where the criminal had suicide was killed by the police. Shinichi's mind clicks. A year and a few months ago, he was involved in a case with a drug dealer, Ryu. The man killed one of his customers because the victim threatened to turn him in to the police. He had a near perfect alibi and conceals his tricks almost perfectly. But Shinichi exposed him. And when Ryu was backed into a corner, he ran. Then he took out a gun and started shooting at the police. Because of his danger to the public, the police had no choice but to incapacitate the drug dealer. It ended with a bullet in Ryu's heart.

Crazed laughter fills the room

"Well, Mr. Detective? Have you figured out the answer?"

"It can't be…can it be that you guys are talking about the drug dealer, Ryu?"

"That's right!" the walkie-talkie spits out, "You killed him! And now…you're going to pay!! Heheh, we left a little present for you and your cute little girlfriend, Mr. Detective. Think of it as…a goodbye present. From all of us." Another crazed laughter fills the room. And then silence.

Shinichi's heart rings in his ears as he stares at the box in front of him. With trembling fingers, he gently tears off the wrapping. He freezes like he just saw a bomb.

Because it _is_ a bomb.

With exactly an hour in it's timer.

Then…the countdown starts. _"That bastard,"_ growls Shinichi, _"he set the bomb to start the timer when I open the wrappings."_

Shinichi has officially seal in their fate.

The Great Detective's mind races, trying to figure out an escape from this trap, willing to do anything to save Ran's life, if not his own. His hands ball into a tight fist, and his jaw clench. There are no escapes. Tears sting his eyes. He's failing Ran again, unable to protect her.

A small hand touches his shoulder and he looks up. It's funny how even in the most desperate situation, he finds her tearful face beautiful. "Shinichi," she fearfully whispers, "are we…are we going to die?" Her hand tightens onto his shoulder. "Tell me the truth Shinichi, are we?"

Shinichi's shoulders slump. "There's a high possibility that we will. It's impossible to disable the bomb and the door can't be open. No one knows where we are and by the time they find out that we've disappeared, it'll be too late. I'm so sorry Ran. I always put you in dangerous situations and make you cry. I'm so pathetic aren't I? I can't even protect someone I love." Shinichi gives a harsh laugh that turns into a small sob.

"Shinichi…" Ran falls onto her knees tears streaming down her face. _'Why?'_ she thought, _'Why us? Why now? Shinichi just came back to me, please… Kami-sama please don't take him away from me….'_ Ran lifts her eyes to the man in front of her. _'No…Shinichi's suffering much more than I am. And besides'_ Ran smiles a little despite her tears, _'if the bomb explodes we'll die together.'_ Ran lifts her hand and gently caresses Shinichi's face. Her hand weaves into his soft hair, encouraging him to look at her.

"Shinichi…remember at the Beika City Building? Do you remember what you told me?" Ran leans her forehead against Shinichi's. "If we die, we die together. As long as I'm with you I don't care what happen, as long as you're with me."

"Ran…" Shinichi looks into her gentle eyes and raises his hand to cup her face, erasing away her tears, "I've waited for so long to see you again and now this happens." Shinichi crushes Ran to his chest, his hands snake around her waist and tangle in her hair, his lip whispering in her ear. "But I suppose you're right, if I have to spend my last moments, I'm glad it's with you." They both stand there, holding each other, finding comfort in each other's arms.

"Hey Ran," Shinichi unwrap his arms from her body and stick his hand into his pocket. Ran looks at his semi-excited face in curiosity. In Shinichi's hand is a small velvet box. Ran's eyes widen as she open the box. Inside of it lays two rings with white gold band and red wire braided in the middle.

"Red thread that connects us," the red face Shinichi said, "I guess it sounds a little corny but I want something that bind us together even when I'm not next to you. I wanted to give it to you at the right time but I guess now is the only time."

"A…a promise ring?" Ran caresses the rings

"Yea, I wanted to ask you to wait for me but now, let's make it a promise to stay together in the afterlife" Shinichi takes out the smaller of the two and slides it onto the forth finger of her left hand. Ran does the same for Shinichi. They both stare at the matching rings in admiration and imagine what their future could've been like together. They would have a traditional Japanese wedding and Western style wedding reception. On their honeymoon, they would encounter a murder case and Shinichi would solve it while Ran stands on the side, smiling at her husband. Some years later, their first child would be born and he would take after his father's love for mystery. Couple years later, their second child would be born and she would take after Ran's gentleness. Together, Ran and Shinichi would watch over their children and look back and laugh together at the time when Shinichi chased away their daughter's suitors or when their son accidentally kicked the soccer ball straight into Mouri's face. And the time will come when their children get marry to the love of their lives and the time will come when they greet their first grandchild into the world. They would live together and grow old together and die of old age together. And then…and then they would watch over their children, their children's children, and the future generations of their families together in heaven.

With thirty minutes left on the clock, they spend it talking about everything, anything, and nothing. He tells her the truth about Conan, she tells him she knows. Shinichi looks at her with wide eyes and she looks at him with a gentle smile. She had somehow suspected it in her heart, she says. With each minute ticking by, they tighten their hold on each other, leaning closer to each other, desperately trying to mold their bodies into one.

Three minutes.

"Ran…"

"Shinichi…"

"I love you…"

Two minutes.

Gently, their hands caresses each other's faces, memorizing every curves, every jaw lines, every breath.

One minute.

Simultaneously, they lean toward one another as if drawn by a magnet. Slowly, their lips brush, again and again, each stroke firmer and longer than the last. When they finally part for air, Shinichi shift their positions so that his back faces the bomb and Ran in his lap so that he would take the worst damage from the bomb. He presses his lips to her forehead and hugs her close. Ran rest her head against his chest, his loud steady heartbeat in her ear strangely calms her down. Shinichi's hand strokes her soft hair. Ran presses a kiss onto Shinichi's jugular vein, feeling it pulse under her lips. They close their eyes. _Sayonara…aishiteru…_

* * *

…_On March 14__th__, two corpses were found inside of a cabin in a secluded area just outside of Tokyo. The one of the deceased was determined to be Mouri Ran, only child of the famous detective, Mouri Kogoro, and lawyer, Eri Kisaki. The other is the renowned high school detective, Kudo Shinichi, only child of mystery author, Yusaku Kudo, and actresss, Yukiko Kudo. Cause of death was determined to be a bomb explosion. A passerby, who happens to be at the scene of crime, confirmed that he heard the explosion and came to investigate. The criminals and their motives are currently unknown although Yusaku Kudo-san suspected that the motive is revenge. The deceased Mouri-san and Kudo-san were found wrapped around each other; their left hands intertwine, matching scarlet rings shining in the sun…_

* * *

Finally done!! I don't really like tragedies but one day, a random idea pops up and it went something like "it's kinda romantic for couple to die together" and I was reminded of one the Korean music video that I watch but don't remember the name. It was about a kidnapped girl bonding and falling in love with her guard and in the end, she was strapped to some bombs and she blew herself up along with her dead lover. Then I somehow connected the two and came up with Shinichi and Ran…it's kinda sad but I can't imagine a happy ending for them

If you caught the line "if we die, we die together" from Detective Conan movie 1 then I applaud you!! And the part where they were talking about _Amazing Grace_ was from movie 12. I had to go back to watch the movie for the right scene =]

The image I had for the rings in the story is in my profile, go look at it!!


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